Survivor: Gabon, 12/11 recap: Good vs. Evil vs. Immunity

Ok, kiddies, it’s a busy few days in Survivorland, what with the finale coming up Sunday, so Auntie Lucy’s going to walk you through this last regular episode (is it the penultimate show? Pen-penultimate?) quickly.

Last week, Bob and Corrine hatched a plan to use yet another fake idol made by Bob to try to get Crystal and Kenny to vote with them and boot Matty. But Kenny and Crystal decided to split their vote, and since Corinne had no real idol to play, she got the boot.

In Which Kenny Plays Every Guilt Trick Except Crying

That night back at camp, Matty, of course, is not thrilled. He thinks Kenny voted for him. He confronts Kenny, and tells Kenny not to lie to him. Matty’s pretty angry.

“I have been calling the shots out here. I am the mastermind, from day one.” Kenny says, a little grandiosely for my taste.

Matty says Kenny’s playing a game. Sugar tells the others that Matty’s gone next if Bob wins. Sugar tells us she has an alliance with Kenny and Crystal.

Crystal regrets not writing Matty’s name down, and thinks it’s the stupidest move she’s made. She thinks he needs to go. Yes, it was stupid. You can’t just poke a bear and then expect it to sit nicely. It’s going to poke back, unless you poke it all the way out of the game.

Kenny takes Bob aside and asks Bob if they lied, and why Corinne didn’t play the idol. Bob admits it was fake. Kenny says now his game is messed up, and Bob says he’s sorry he put Kenny in a horrible position. “I risked everything to save you and Corinne, and this is what I get for being a nice guy?” Kenny says, laying it on thick. Guilt-tripped to within an inch of his life, Bob then promises if he wins immunity he’ll give it to Kenny. Stupid.

Kenny tells us he made Bob feel sorry for him, so it’s a huge power play. Bob tells us he’s a man of his word.

Planet of the Apes

The reward challenge involves racing into a swamp through a series of obstacles, retrieving a ball, coming back, tossing the ball into a net, three times. The first person to get three balls in the net wins. The winner will be flown to a gorilla sanctuary, plus food and a bed and a shower.

They’ll also send one person to Exile.

Matty takes a lead with the first ball, with Kenny not far behind. Bob’s in third at the moment. The women haven’t made any shots. The men make their second shots while the women still are trying to hit their first one. They take their third shots, and Bob wins.

Jeff tells him he can take one person with him. He chooses Crystal. Then he can choose someone else, and takes Kenny. Bob tells us he needs Crystal and Kenny to work with him. Bob chooses Susie to go to Exile. I’d almost forgotten she was still there.

Fools, to leave Sugar alone with Matty. Matty tells us Crystal and Kenny drive him nuts, they’ve been here too long, and his goal is to get Sugar on his side. As fickle as Sugar has shown herself to be, there’s probably a good shot it’ll work.

Bob, Kenny and Crystal board their helicopter, Kenny’s first helicopter trip. Below they can see animals and waterfalls. They get lunch of fruit, salami, cheese, olives, etc. Kenny says Matty would have taken Susie and Sugar. Crystal says if it’s not Matty going home this time, it’s going to be one of them. Bob wonders if Sugar will vote with them. He hopes he’s won the confidence of Kenny and Crystal.

Kenny says if Bob wins immunity, he can take a risk and Bob doesn’t have to give it to him. Bob says it’s up to Kenny. The plan is, Bob will wear the necklace, and if Kenny thinks he needs it, he’ll take it.

They shower and put on brightly colored dress things. They then get a lecture about what the gorilla project is, protecting gorillas who’ve been orphaned. They then walk out to an observation platform, getting the gorillas used to them. Bob says he’s not usually spiritual, but feels there’s a connection between the apes and himself. “It sort of rocked my soul.”

On Exile, Susie goes for comfort, because she knows Sugar has the idol. She says it’s nice to be away from the game and not have to think about it. I’m not sure how that’s terribly different from what Susie does at camp.

The Predictability of Sugar

At camp, Matty tells Sugar how much he wants Kenny and Crystal out. He says he’s been gunning for them a long time. She tells him he’s the biggest threat. She also says she’s in an alliance with them. But, she says, Kenny could totally be taking her for a ride. She still thinks Matty is the stronger threat. “I don’t know who to believe,” Sugar says. See? Fickle.

Matty reminds Sugar she has the idol, and she says yes, but it’s only good for the next tribal council. He says she should give it to him. She says no way. Matty tells us he’s basically on his own, and if he loses the next challenge he’s going home.

The next day, the other three return, showing off their laundered clothes. Matty tells us it was frustrating that Bob chose Kenny and Crystal.

Kenny tells Matty he can feel that Matty’s mad at him. Kenny says there’s no reason to be upset. Crystal says he should thank her for not writing his name down.

Kenny says it’s a game, it was a strategic move, and Matty shouldn’t be mad. Crystal and Matty go talk, and somehow Crystal gets herself into a full-blown rant, yelling so loud the others can hear. She says he’s changed, and it’s not for the good. She and Kenny have been there for him, and she wants nothing from him.

Sugar says Crystal is going off on Matty for no reason, and Kenny went off on Matty, and Matty “doesn’t deserve to be yelled at.” She now thinks Matty is right, that Kenny and Crystal take out whomever they want, that Kenny lies and Crystal is a big bully. Sigh. Raise your hand if you saw this coming.

Sugar goes and tells Matty that Crystal and Kenny are not good people and she believes him now. She’s crying, god knows why. “Why would they kick you when you’re down? I feel like they’re just going off on you when they know you’re going,” Sugar says. But, she assures him, he’s not going anywhere. She says it’ll be her, him, Bob and Susie. She needs to talk to Bob.

Matty says if she’s telling the truth, he has hope. He may have to go to the end with Bob and Bob will dominate, “but good will prevail.”

Necklace, Necklace, Who Gets the Necklace?

At the immunity challenge, Jeff explains that they’ll study features on a Gabonese mask, then take three bags of pieces, make their way to a station with a blank mask, and put features on it. Blindfolded.

They start feeling the mask up with their hands. Crystal wanders off course. Matty decides to collect all his pieces, while the others start with their first bag. Bob and Matty have their final bags, Susie wanders off course. Matty goes back to check his mask, while Bob thinks he has it. But he doesn’t. Kenny thinks he has it, and is wrong. Bob thinks he has it again, and this time he’s right, and wins immunity.

That’s four challenges in a row, and Bob is 57 years old. Kenny says now it’s up to Bob to give the immunity to him.

Kenny tells Crystal he’ll tell Bob to give him the necklace, and they’ll vote for Bob. “We should have gotten rid of him when we had the chance,” they say. Bob is winning too many challenges. Crystal wants to vote Matty, but will go with Bob.

Kenny tells Bob he’s feeling a bit scared. Bob asks why. Kenny insists he feels like they’re going to blindside him. Bob assures him people are voting Matty. Kenny tells us if Bob does give him the necklace, he’ll look good and still go home, and if he doesn’t, he’ll look bad.

Crystal tells Sugar that Kenny’s going to get the necklace from Bob and they’ll vote Bob out. Kenny goes and tells them to tell Bob they’re going to vote for him.

Sugar says she doesn’t want to be aligned with them, she wants to be aligned with “the good guys.”

She goes to Bob and explains her alliance, and how she doesn’t want to be in it. She explains that the plan is to blindside Bob. “I think we need to take them out,” Sugar says.

Bob asks where Susie stands. Sugar says she thinks Susie will vote however Matty does. She wants to vote for Crystal. Bob tells us Sugar’s playing the game and he wants to believe her. Sugar cries and says she has a place in her heart for him. She wants Bob to look out for himself. She won’t vote for him, even though he’s the biggest threat. “I just think the good guys should win in the end.”

Sugar comes back and reports that Bob might really give up the necklace. She tells them she hates lying to Bob but it’s a game. She also tells Matty to let her do the thinking. She whispers to Matty just to vote for Crystal.

Sugar pulls out her idol, since it’s the last day to do it. She says that maybe she should give it to Matty, but she doesn’t want to get blindsided. She says as long as Matty listens to her and Bob trusts her, everything will be fine.

Matty says if anyone’s going to dominate, he’s glad it’s Bob. He’d rather Bob have the necklace than someone of “a little less caliber.” Gee, I wonder who he’s talking about?

Kenny thinks Bob chose him for the reward because Kenny flopped last time thanks to Bob’s lies, and that Bob eventually promised to give the immunity necklace. I’m surprised he’d say that publicly. Bob says they then renegotiated, and if tonight he feels Kenny’s in danger, he’ll give him the necklace. Kenny says he’s the outcast, he turned on his alliance.

Crystal thinks Bob chose her because she hasn’t been on a reward.

Matty says Bob knows Kenny and Crystal are the tightest alliance. Kenny shakes his head, saying he jeopardized his position and could be the next to go. “It makes the deal even more important to me,” Kenny says, laying it on thick again. “I’ve had the feeling all day it might be me.”

Matty says he feels very vulnerable. Sugar is wearing the hidden immunity idol. Jeff says if she plays it they’ll find out if it’s real. Bob says he didn’t make that one. Randy shakes his head.

Bob keeps the idol because he doesn’t think Kenny’s going home tonight.

Crystal votes for Matty, whispering that he wrote her name down one time and it’s payback time. Matty votes Crystal, saying he’s been waiting for this day for a long time.

Jeff fetches the votes and asks if anyone wants to play the hidden immunity idol. So Sugar hands it to Matty. “Take this cursed thing away,” she says. Matty takes it to Jeff, who says that finally, this IS a real immunity idol.

Re: Survivor: Gabon, 12/11 recap: Good vs. Evil vs. Immunity

My favorite moment of this season was this tribal council. I couldn't wait to see Crystal go, tired of her pouty face all the time. Loved when Bob kept the immunity and Sugar gave hers to Matty, made my day. (I gotta getta life)

Re: Survivor: Gabon, 12/11 recap: Good vs. Evil vs. Immunity

"How do you know the chosen ones? No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his friend. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame... for one person. In the dark. Where no one will ever know or see." - Sebastion, Babylon 5